Report 2010:17 R

Towards a new programme?

A government assignment concerning programmes in chiropractic and

naprapathy

The Government has assigned the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education the task of proposing how programmes in chiropractic and naprapathy could be organised as higher education programmes in terms of their extent, contents and level. The programmes must maintain comparable standards to corresponding programmes in other countries, such as Denmark. The National Agency has made international comparisons with similar programmes abroad as part of this task. At the same time the National Agency has analysed the possibilities open for internship training. The task has also involved analysing the impact of the proposals on the Nordic labour market for the professions concerned. As required by the assignment, the National Agency also arranged a major seminar with various stakeholders.

The National Agency is submitting the following proposal for the organisation of programmes in chiropractic and naprapathy with regard to their extent, contents and level:

The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education´s proposal: Programmes in chiropractic, naprapathy  and manual orthopaedic therapy should be offered as specialised programmes leading to the award of second-cycle one-year or two-year master´s degrees after the award of a professional status qualification in physiotherapy. These specialisations should be offered as three of several optional specialisations in the main field of physiotherapy. ´Chiropractor´, ´naprapath´ and ´orthopaedic manual therapist´ should be given
the status of regulated professional titles. With this proposal the National Agency would like to present an overall concept for courses and programmes in the field of manual therapy. Today there are differences of opinion that give rise to competition rather than cooperation between the professions. A broad shared basis would  encourage contact between the different practitioners and greater understanding that would enable collaboration in the health services. The proposal takes into account the current distinction between practitioners of the different manual therapies by offering training that provides the specific competence in chiropractic, naprapathy or other manual forms of treatment as separate second-cycle specialisations.

The National Agency considers that there is overlap between existing programmes offered in public sector higher education institutions and in the field of chiropractic and naprapathy. This applies mainly to their contents, both in terms of the basic medical science as well as specialisation in the different manual methods, where programmes in chiropractic, naprapathy and physiotherapy overlap each other.

In view of the existence in Sweden of established higher education programmes in physiotherapy with sound links with research, the agency concludes that physiotherapy is the main field of study that offers the best setting for the development of chiropractic and naprapathy as academic disciplines.

The National Agency proposes that the basic requirement for admission to second-cycle specialist programmes in chiropractic, naprapathy or orthopaedic manual therapy in the field of physiotherapy should be a professional status qualification as a physiotherapist (180 credits).

This proposal is based on the assessment that the knowledge required in both basic medical science and in disciplinary theory and methodology is the same for each professional category that intends to specialise in manual methods of treatment.

It is proposed that the ´chiropractor´, ´naprapath´ and ´orthopaedic manual therapist´ should be given the status of regulated professional titles. The National Board of Health and Welfare is recommended to stop registering chiropractors and naprapaths in connection with any decision to introduce regulated professional titles for chiropractors, naprapaths and orthopaedic manual therapists.

The use of these regulated professional titles enable avoidance of the problem of double certification, while at the same time the general degree titles of one-year master or two-year master will denote the academic level of the qualifications. The organisation of these programmes proposed by the National Agency will also enable trainee chiropractors and naprapaths to benefit from the broad range of second-cycle specialist courses for physiotherapists currently on offer.

The National Agency assumes, however, that the Government will consider generous transitional regulations for students who have begun but not yet completed their programmes at the Scandinavian College of Chiropractic (Stiftelsen Skandinaviska kiropraktorhögskolan) and  the Scandinavian College of Naprapathic Manual Medicine (Naprapathögskolan).